Comic John Mulrooney has performed throughout the Middle East, twice in Israel and Iraq. On Saturday, Nov. 3, he'll bring his comedy closer to home with a performance in Brewster, N.Y. That's where Temple Beth Elohim is hosting its 20th annual Comedy Night, also featuring comedian Marion Grodin.

The popular event will be at Vista on the Hill, located at 31 Mt. Ebo Road N. It's $35 for the show and dessert.

Mulrooney, who is Irish and was raised as a Roman Catholic, said he plans to come hungry because "Jews and Italians are similar; they feed you whether you want to eat or not!"

Performing in Israel was a thrill for Mulrooney, he said, because he had always wanted to visit the Holy Land and see the places spoken of in the Bible. On one visit he was there to do a charity show for the Koby Mandell Foundation, which helps people who have lost loved ones to terrorism. (Mandell and a friend were teens when they were beaten to death on the outskirts of an Israeli settlement where they lived with their families in 2001.) The benefit show was sponsored by Jerry Seinfeld.

At first, Mulrooney was concerned about his performance because he wasn't sure how religious the audiences would be and whether his humor would be the right fit. But there was no reason for worry.

"In Israel I was really struck by how great the audiences were," he said, adding his experience as a comic was helpful in deciding what to present. "I view each show as a chef views a recipe. I look at the audience as a spice rack. I know I'm gonna make a great meal; I'm just not sure of the ingredients yet."

When entertaining troops in combat zones in the Middle East in 2010, Mulrooney said the difficult part was how the soldiers viewed him. "The toughest part was being treated like a hero by real heroes," he said.

Sometimes he was at a "JSS" (Joint Support Station) with Iraqis and U.S. soldiers. "Some of these people had never had a helicopter land in their facility or in their perimeter. Three comics come out dressed like they're going to the Bahamas, with helmets and flak jackets. It's like watching the mother ship land. They were thrilled someone went out of their way to do something for them."

Especially touching, he said, was a show in Iraq where he was in a theater that seated 400 to 500 soldiers. About 10 minutes into the show a group of Marines came in "and tried to hide in the back" (sneak in so Mulrooney would not call attention to them with jokes).

"They didn't want to be picked on for being late; I called them out on it. There was a black guy as big as a mountain who had a smile like a search light. I brought him up on stage and we had a lot of laughs."

It turned out he was the commanding officer of the group and pilot of a Harrier Jump Jet, the kind that can "land like a helicopter and fly as fast as a jet," Mulrooney explained. They'd just come back from a combat mission where they had killed several enemy fighters and barely survived themselves.

The Marine thanked Mulrooney for performing his comedy act and Mulrooney said "You're welcome."

But then the Marine said, "No, you don't know what you did."

He told Mulrooney his men had been through so much and were so stressed out, he never thought he'd see them laugh again.

"I grabbed him and went to hug him and he was like, don't hug me, and then he suddenly collapses into me," Mulrooney said. "I could feel him go down. I said `I gotchya, I gotchya.' He didn't want his guys to see him like that. He stepped back and I could see he had big tears in his eyes. He quickly wiped them away."